
S s-s-y 



■ 285 
1855 

»py 1 



THIRTY YEARS 



1 



WITH 



THE HORSE 



SAMUEL P. STICKNEY, 

Equestrian and Circus Proprietor. 

CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR THE BREAKING, TRAINING, KEEPING 

AND GENERAL TREATMENT OF THAT NOBLE ANIMAL; BEING 

THE RESULTS OF OVER THIRTY TEARS' EXPERIENCE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

SAMUEL P. STICKNEY, 

BY A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK PRESS. 



PRICE, TWENTY-FIVE CENTS. 



PUBLISHED BY MURRAY <& <^9- 



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BIOGRAPHY OF SAMUEL P. STICOEY. 



When we read the opinions of any acknowledged authority, 
in this or that art or science in which we feel interested, we 
naturally wish to know something of the personal history and 
character of the man himself. We feel an interest in him, 
arising from our admiration of the skill and experience which 
have made him distinguished ; and also because, by knowing 
him, we can the better tell what value to set upon his judg- 
ment. 

For these i*easons it has been deemed fit that a biography 
should accompany this pamphlet, which sets forth so many di- 
rections, and principles of importance, to all who own horses 
or have anything to do with them ; directions and principles 
which have irresistible weight, because sanctioned by him, — a 
man whose name as an equestrian and horse-owner has as wide 
a celebrity as that of any man living ; a fame, too, which is not 
of mushroom growth, but the legitimate offspring of more than 
thirty years of active equestrian life. 

As this work is to go before the world, and will doubtless 
exercise great influence over the minds of thousands, who either 
ride, drive, own or have the charge of horses, it is due to the 
subject of this biography to state that it is written, not to give 
force to his opinions in the minds of veteran horse-owners and 
dealers in this country, for ihey have long known Mr. Stickney 
better than pen or type can portray him. 

This prefatory sketch is chiefly published for the information 
of the masses, who have but an imperfect knowledge of hira. 
It will also serve as an interesting memorandum, for his old per- 
sonal friends, throughout the United States ; and for future 
reference by all who cherish and regard the manly equestrian 
profession, its genial members, and the noble animal which is 
its expressive emblem. 

Samuel P. Stickney was ])orn in Boston, Mass., on the 12th 
of Feburay, 1810. He is the fourth son of Benjamin B. Stick- 
ney, a highly esteemed resident of Billerica, of the same Stale. 



In his earliest years, his father having removed to Boston, 
Samuel evinced a remarkable fondness for horses ; and though 
he showed as much aptitude for learning as any intelligent boy 
of his age usually does, and held his own, as a scholar, with 
any of his schoolmates, under the somewhat severe discipline 
of the late Charles Emerson — a brother, by the way, of Ralph 
Waldo Emerson — still he loved horses ; and we may suppose 
him to have plead with his parents his desire to quit his studies, 
in this wise : — " Not that I love Emerson less, but that I love 
horses more!" While at Emerson's school — the "Fort Hill 
School " — he was a classmate of the lamented young American 
tragedian, Charles Henry Eaton, who died in Pittsburgh, Pa., 
June 4th, 1843, from a fall at the Exchange Hotel. 

The passion of this youth for horses and for equestrian dis- 
tinction prevailed with his parents ; and we find that he made 
his first appearance, as a rider in the Circus, in Washington 
Garden, Boston, opposite the Common, in 1822. The veteran 
James West was then there, manager and proprietor, with an 
English troupe of artists, among whom our American boy-rider 
showed to brilliant advantage, before crowds of the genial, good 
old-tkshioned families of that day. 

In the year of 1825-6, hia skill, grace and daring as a rider 
and general performer having enabled him to command "good 
terms " from managers, he made his first appearance in New 
York ; performing at the Lafayette Circus, in Laurens street} 
between Canal and Grand. This establishment was then under 
the management of John Miller ; and subsequently of Charles 
W. Sandford, Esq., then a member of the New York Bar. The 
latter gentleman afterwards distinguished himself as a lawyer 
and politician and in military life ; in the last profession holding 
the present rank of Major General. 

Having won early and marked distinction by his prowess as 
an artist, and having acquired the attachment of his acquaint- 
ances in private by his amiability of nature, as well as their 
implicit confidence by his unswerving integrity, in 1826 he was 
offered a partnership by Mr. Fogg, and accepted it, becoming his 
associate at Military Garden, Brooklyn, L. I. 



Thenceforth his progress, in fame, ability and fortune, was 
upward and onward. No member of the profession was more 
noted for strict and continual attention to business. It absorbed 
nearly all his time and thoughts ; and it was the case with him, 
as it has been with nearly all who have excelled in his art, that 
his labors toward perfection were much greater in his practicing 
in the ring by day, than in his performances by night. The 
real work was at rehearsing his exploits ; the gay and festive 
audiences little reflecting that what was done with such seeming 
ease, before their wondering eyes, was the fruit of countless, 
painful, persevering, hazardous trials, when no admiring eye was 
present to witness, and no applausive hand to cheer. 

This devotion to his romantic calling could not but result in 
the most intimate knowledge of the nature, habits and proper 
treatment of the horse, under all circumstances and in all moods. 
From his youth, we might almost say from his cradle, the horse 
has been his constant companion, up to the present time ; and 
not only his companion, but his friend ; for Mr. Stickney was 
one of the earliest who recognized the fact that kindness, patience 
and perseverance are the chief means of controlling the horse ; 
not rudeness, force, nor cruelty. Hence the horse is his willing 
scholar and his friend ; and the same may be said of Rarey, a 
late, but enlightened authority in these matters. 

As a proof of the long established reputation of Mr. Stickney 
in the equestrian art, it is only necessary to mention the fact, 
that, in the course of the last thirty-six years, he has been, not 
only a renowned equestrian and athlete, but a manager and pro- 
prietor of circuses, in the following cities and towns in the United 
States, independent of the innumerable other places which are 
included in the grand routes of circuses, during their "traveling 
seasons," in the United States, Cuba, the Canadas and the Brit- 
ish Provinces : — Boston, New York, Richmond, Raleigh, (N. C.) 
Columbia, (S. C.) Augusta, (Ga.) Charleston, (S. C.) Mobile^ 
(Ala.) New Orleans, Natchez, (Miss.) Memphis, (Tenn.) St. 
Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wash- 
ington, (D. C.) and New York ; in which last named city, having 
returned to it after an absence of thirty-two years, he concluded. 



6 

in the autumn of 1861, to attempt the hazardous task of reviving 
the fallen fortunes of the Old Bowery Theatre ; once glorious 
under the auspices of Thomas Hamblin, but of late years the 
sad victim of numerous mismanagements, known and un- 
known. 

With his accustomed energy, and having the influence of un- 
impeachable character to inspire confidence, in November, 1861, 
he opened the old shrine, with a very large and talented double 
company, — equestrian and dramatic, — and aided by the veteran 
dramatic author and stage manager, John Foster, he conducted 
the theatre through a highly successful season of nineteen 
weeks, giving employment to an immense number of people, in 
the midst of the most unfavorable war-times ; and securing large 
audiences, while many deserving rival houses were doing next 
to nothing. This fact is significant and needs no comment. 

As a general performer, Mr. Stickney has been noted for ver- 
satility, riding all known acts of classic or scenic horsemanship, 
from one horse up to eight, and excelling, in his day, as a 
vaulter, tumbler, etc. Among his well known contemporaries 
in the profession were John Gossin, Christopher Hughes, Wil- 
liam Lawson, John Rogers, Isaac Asten, John Shey, William 
Hunt, George Sweet, John Andrews, and others, famed and 
accomplished in their day and generation, but now, alas ! re- 
moved from the scenes of their ancient triumphs and the circles 
of their friends. 

Mr. Stickney was married in Philadelphia, in the year 1831, 
to Miss Christiana Wolfe, a native of that city. She was an 
attractive and most exemplary lady. By her truly feminine, 
womanly traits she inspired the enduring esteem and attachment 
of unnumbered fi-iends. Her sympathies were ever alive for 
the wronged or unfortunate. She was an ornament to her sex. 
She was a good wife and a good mother, fond and devoted in 
each of those sacred relations, and her unpretentious character 
made her virtues shine the more. In 1861, while traveling in 
Connecticut with her husband and daughter, Sallie Elouise, she 
was attacked by a malignant disease which resulted fatally, and 
she was buried in Bridgeport in that State. 



The issue of the marriage were six children — Rosaline, 
Charles, Samuel E., Sallie Elouise, Robert Theodore and 
Emma. 

Of this, Rosaline, the eldest, was the first female equestrian 
who ever performed in America with marked distinction. She 
was married, in 1850, to Monsieur Benoit, brother to the emi- 
nent French equestrienne, Madame Tournaire, and himself a 
gifted horseman. There were three children by this marriage, 
two of whom are still living. The mother died in Philadelphia , 
in 1854. — Samuel E. Stickney is the popular clown and general 
performer. — Sallie Elouise, named after the whilom " Belle of 
Kentucky," Sallie Ward, has been distinguished as a star rider 
almost from infancy. In 1862 she married another eminent 
member of the profession, Mr. Samuel Omar Kingsley, who for 
so long a time astonished the public, in his unparalleled disguise 
as a woman, under the celebrated alias of " Zoyara." — Robert 
Theodore, the youngest brother, is everywhere known as the 
champion boy-rider of America. — Last and youngest of all, and 
as promising as any, is " Little Emma," the graceful and spirit, 
uelle danseuse and juvenile equestrian. 

An interesting item in this connection may not be unaccepta- 
ble to those who peruse this work. We copy it as it appeared 
in the columns of that able weekly journal, the New York 
Sunday Atlas, edited by Messrs. Anson Herrick and Henry 
Morford : — 

POETICAL ADDRESS, 

On the occasion of the Complimentary Benefit to Manager Samuel P. 
Stickney, at the Bowery Theatre, Saturday evening, March 8th, 1862, 
after thirty-two years' absence from New York. Spoken by Charles 
Foster, Tragedian. 

By WiLLiAix 0. Eaton. 

Before, with cordial hearts, and faces bright, 
We hail the veteran horseman of to-night, 
We can a transient thought to him assign 
Who was a favorite here in auld lang syne I 
In the first Chatham's ring, hard by this spot, 
The temple vanished and ahnost forgot, 



He graced the lists, in earliest manhood's pride, 
And New York thronged to see the champion ride. 
Three times ten years and more are gone since then, 
And he returns to stride the steeds again, 
To urge their fleetness, try his art once more, 
And re-enact the cavalier of yore. 
'Tis well to see so full a gathering here, 
To crown the evening of his long career, 
Who, hke some old crusader, from afar, 
Turns his proud horse toward the Northern star, 
And, all the turmoils of his campaigns past, 
Reins in his gallant steed at home at last, 
"Where early friendships for his coming wait, 
And welcome stands to greet him at the gate. 
Trust me that when he comes hefore your gaze, 
He '11 miss full many a friend of other days ; 
And though ambition nerve and kindness cheer, 
Old recollections will demand a tear. 
In this long thirty-two years' flight of time, 
His life has shifted on, from clime to clime ; — 
North, South, East, West, all sections of the land 
Have known his managerial command, 
Whose various fortunes, aU confirming fame. 
Have never left a shadow on his name 1 
To-night, the artist, manager and man 
Once more appears. Deny his claims who can ? 
Ye young New Yorkers ! when he mounts his horse, 
The praise your fathers gave him'endorse ; 
With yours the absence of their hands supply, 
And light the old-time ardor in his eye ; 
Show you 're not blind to merit and renown, 
Although not cradled in your native town ; 
Refute the maxim, untrue as unkind. 
That " Out of sight is also out of mind;" 
And feel that honor on yourselves you bring. 
To welcome back the Veteran of the Ring ! 

1^^^ Of such a man, such an established and universally ac- 
knowledged authority, we have only to add — Mark his advice ! 



THE HORSE. 



Rules adopted hy Samuel P. Stickney, for his Breaking^ 
Training^ Keeping^ and general Treatment. 



FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

The three leading rules are : Be always patient, Be always 
Itind, Be always persevering with the horse. To these indispen- 
sables may be added the following principles, in which Mr. Stick- 
ney has an abiding faith. 

Any horse may be taught to do anything that a horse can do, 
if taught in a systematic and proper manner. 

A horse is not conscious of his own strength, until he has 
resisted and conquered a man ; and even in cases where he has 
temporarily triumphed he may yet be subdued. By taking ad- 
vantage of man's reasoning powers a horse can be handled in 
such a manner that he shall not find out his strength. 

By enabling a horse to examine every object with which we 
desire to make him familiar, with the organs naturally used for 
that purpose, viz., seeing, smelling and feeling, you may place or 
display the object around, over, and on him, provided that it does 
not hurt him or make him feel disagreeable. 

The colt should be accustomed to kindness, and gestle, yet 
firm handling, from the first, and in this manner learn perfect 
obedience to his master's will. The halter should be placed 
upon him when quite young, and he should learn to be guided by 
it in any direction, and with ease ; and as he grows up, one les- 
son after another may be added, as the owner's wishes or fancy 
may dictate, so that, when the time comes that his services are 
demanded, he is ready trained for the service, educated in the 
way he should go, and he will walk therein. The whole pro- 
cess should be one of careful avoidance of influences tending to 



10 

create bad habits, teaching the animal what it will be required 
to know, before that requisition comes, and by education super- 
cede the necessity for the unphilosophical, and often brutal 
" breaking." 

TAMING A VICIOTIS HORSE. 

The following instance may serve as a guide for taming all 
obstinate or vicious horses. It shows the superiority of "moral 
suasion" over cruel, brute force. A gentleman having bought 
an apparently untameable but splendid horse and declared his 
resolve to "conquer or die," led him from his stable in the 
presence of an excited crowd, put a saddle on him, buckled it 
with uncommon tightness, and after trying the stirrups, to see 
that all was sound and right, with a single bound was in his 
saddle. 

Now commenced a scene of rearing, and springing, and 
pitching unlike anything ever before witnessed. In retaliation, 
the rider commenced using the cow-hide freely over the rump, 
about the sides and legs of the animal, and at length over his 
head, eyes, ears and mouth. It was evidently a battle between 
two equally determined, but unequally powerful opponents — a 
trial of animal strength — an exhibition of dexterity — on the part 
of the animal, to throw off the disagreeable load ; on the part of 
the disagreeable load — the man — to conquer, to subdue, to main- 
tain his position. But the horse, being the stouter of the two, 
was the victor, and would have thrown his load a rod at least 
from his back, but for the rider's foot having caught in the stir- 
rup ; and in that plight, the horse would soon have kicked his 
brains out, if he had any, but for the interference and assistance 
of the by-standers, who soon liberated the prisoner from his 
critical position. 

Another gentleman present, determining to try Stickney's 
plan, now bought the animal for a nominal sum, took him home, 
put him in a clean, light, nice stable, fed him well, brushed, 
combed, conversed with and caressed him, in person, and having 
spent several days in thus obtaining a pleasant introduction to 
him, at last placed a saddle gently on his back. And annexed 
is what the gentleman said himself: — 



11 

" I crawled shyly upon his back, setting down so easily that he 
could scarcely distinguish the time when I was fairly fixed ; my 
head mean time, and for some time afterward, close to his. I 
made no motion for him to go, but slipped off, and went for a 
pair of mittens, though it was July ; put on the mittens and 
again mounted his back cautiously — no, not cautiously, for it will 
never do to be cautious — but in a friendly, familiar manner, as 
much as to say, I have a right to a place on your back, but, 
then, it is with your leave, sir. After turning him around once 
by the bridle, I was again off to get my hat, then my whip, etc., 
etc., and finally took off his saddle and put him back into his 
stall. This I did several times, perhaps more times than was 
necessary, but I was in no hurry. 

" I next took him into the yard, and, jumping upon another 
horse, rode several times around him, then left that and mounted 
him, and rode several times around the first horse. This was a 
great feat — it was ' glory enough for one day ;' I therefore put 
the horse up and left him for a day. 

" The next day I tried both horses again, but rode a longer 
time than the first day. Again, I ventured still farther, riding 
around my house, then down the road to the brook and back, 
until finally, I can take a journey on the best saddle horse I ever 
owned, which cost me but Jifty dollars.'''' 

Now who will say that horses have not sense ? Who will 
say that they must not be treated, at least as we would treat a 
dog, or a cat, or a bird, that we would wish to tame and in- 
struct ? 

TEACHING A HORSE TO PERFORM TRICKS. 

Select a good-shaped, bright-eyed, nimble and playful horse, 
not too large, nor too stoutly built ; for some horses, says Mr. 
Stickney, are made only to work, and others to be lazy. Then 
carefully observe the following directions, the result of many 
years' experience in training horses for the Circus : — 

Treat him with patient kindness. If you crack your whip 
around his legs occasionally to urge obedience, do not do it 
angrily or cruelly, so that he may think you unreasonable, un- 
friendly or ill-tempered. 



12 

Take the whole care of him in the stable yourself. He 
should be made to think you his best friend, and that all he does 
is done for you. 

Never allow any other person or animal to be present when 
you are instructing him. 

Undertake but one trick at a time. 

When he performs well always caress, fondle and feed and 
praise him. Put your arm around his neck, and talk much to' 
him in kind tones. He understands tones and looks and man- 
ners, if not words. And now, observing the above rules, you 
may begin by taking a handkerchief and placing it in a certain 
part of the stable. Then, pointing to the handkerchief) say, 
" Bring me that handkerchief, sii'," leading the horse to it (first 
presuming, however, that he has seen and smelt of it twenty 
times before), bearing his head toward it, and at the same time 
lifting it up to his mouth. Put it into his mouth — if he is dis- 
posed to drop it, hold it to his mouth, and lead him to the other 
side of the stable and put it down. Now take the handkerchief 
and carry it back to where you put it first, then come back to the 
hcrse and say, as before, (in fact, always use the same expres- 
sion and in the same tone of voice) bring me that handkerchief, 
sir ; if he does not start for it, lead him as before, and pass 
through the whole ceremony precisely as the first time. The 
third or fourth time, you can venture to snap your whip and 
manifest some signs of displeasure, but finish with a friendly 
gesture and word, and again lead him to the object, and go 
through the whole round of ceremony. He will at length go so 
far as to go and take the handkerchief in his mouth, and then 
fi'om pure mischief, perhaps, shake it about, or carry it any- 
where else but where you want him to. Then snap your whip, 
and again make him carry it to the place where you were 
standing or sitting, Follow this up and you will soon learn 
your horse to bring your handkerchief to you without your 
moving from your position ; then your hat, gloves, or any other 
object. 

If it is a pail, and he takes hold of it by its side instead of 
the handle, go to him, take it from his mouth, and put the handle 



13 

in his mouth, saying, " That is not right, sir, this is the way !" 
Some such expression as this should be always used, and always 
in precisely the same way, when he does not perform correctly, 
and he will soon learn what is meant by it, if applied to any 
other transaction improperly performed. 

You may now go on and teach him what you please. It is 
by such means that a Circus horse is taught innumerable feats. 

BREAKING A COLT. 

As you draw near the horse, or colt, if he turns from you, stop 
until he stops and has taken another look at you. He will then 
allow you to approach still nearer. If he again starts, stop 
yourself again. It is of no use to follow him while he is in 
motion. He can move faster than you can, and will only widen 
the distance between you. 

When you have succeeded in reaching his head, pat him on 
the neck, put your head close to his, and talk to him, and he will 
soon be pleased with the familiarity. If you are not in too great 
haste, it is better to do this with him frequently, before approach- 
ing him with anything in your hand. 

So much being accomplished, you can now approach him with 
a halter, whip, or any thing else ; but if he turns from you, do 
not follow him up. 

After you have fondled with him several times with a whip, 
halter, harness or anything else you please, take a leather halter (in 
no case use a rope halter) and put it to his nose, then rub it on 
his neck, around his head, mouth and nose, being careful always 
not to approach too near his eyes. Do this frequently before 
putting it over his head. When you get ready, put it over his head 
so easily and with so much unconcern that he will not know you 
have any design in doing it. Do not attempt noio to fasten it, nu- 
less he is very tame, and submissive. Take another opportunity. 

After your colt has become used to the feeling of the halter, 
you can then lead him about ; but if he falls back, go up to him 
and pat him on the neck. Do n't let him have a chance to try 
his strength ; if you do, he will find out that he is stronger than 
you are, which he should never know, 

B 



14 

Every colt should be made familiar with drums, fifes, horns, 
railroad cars ; and with various colors and objects. But never 
approach them or look at them while making any uncommon 
noise for the purpose of breaking them. Whatever you do in 
this line, should be done, at first, at a distance, until the colt cares 
nothing about it ; then approach a step nearer. Avoid all 
sudden frights. 

It is better to pasture them, if possible, near but not too near 
a railroad track, and then in a lot adjoining a track. If you 
cannot do this, the first opportunity you can have, take them 
near, but again not too near, a railroad track. Next time a 
little nearer, always letting them see the cars as they pass. 

TO PREVENT THE HABIT OF KICKING. 

Kicking against the sides of the stall can generally be pre- 
vented, by attaching thorns to the sides of the stall, or anything 
that will prickle without injuring the feet. Kicking in the har- 
ness is best conquered by stout straps, so adjusted as to prevent 
his raising his hind feet. The strap must be very strong and a 
little springy, and then it must be resorted to more for the pur- 
pose of preventing the horse from breaking the carriage, than 
with any expectation of reforming him. 

TO CATCH COLTS IN PASTURES. 

If they are very wild or shy, two or even three should be em- 
ployed to go on all sides and- gradually approach them. Do not 
look directly at them, nor approach in a direct line, nor raise the 
hands as if to head them off. You must not let them mistrust 
that you want to catch them. Let one who is on a horse ap- 
proach slowly, and if your horse will nibble the grass, let him 
do so for a minute, and then take a step nearer ; by such means 
you can soon go in among them, and after your horse has smelt 
of them and they of him, then turn toward your home, and in 
most cases they will follow into the barn yard. If they will not 
do it at first, perseverance will always succeed. It is sometimes 
well, but not always necessary, to feed them. 



15 

Avoid all haste, noise, flurry, excitement. If you get out of 
patience, do not let your colts know it ; if you do, you will have 
lost all your labor thus far. If you cannot control yourself in 
this matter, it is doubtful whether you can control the colts after 
you catch them. Another mode is to go to the pasture and walk 
around the whole herd quietly, and at such a distance as not to 
cause them to scare and run. Then approach them very slowly, 
and if they stick up their heads and seem to be frightened, hold 
on till they become quiet, so as not to make them run before you 
are close enough to drive them in the direction you want them 
to go. And when you begin to drive, do not flourish your arms 
or halloo, but gently follow them off", leaving the direction free 
for them that you wish them to take. 

RESTLESSNESS WHILE BEING SHOD. 

If a young horse is unwilling to be shod, he should be allowed 
to see other horses go through the operation before taking his 
turn. Then take up his foot frequently and hold it as the smith 
does, till he cares nothing about it. Then hammer it, and do 
whatever else will be an imitation of the process of shoeing. 
He will thus soon be prepared for the real act of shoeing. 

HOW TO TREAT A STUBBORN COLT. 

If the animal you are operating upon seems to be of a stubborn 
or mulish disposition rather than wild ; if he lay back his ears 
as you approach him, or turns his heel to kick you, he has not 
that regard or fear of man that he should have, to enable you to 
handle him quickly and easily ; and it might do well to give him 
a few sharp cuts with the whip, about the legs, pretty close to the 
body. It will crack keen as it plies about the legs, and the crack 
of the whip will affect him as much as the stroke ; besides, one 
sharp cut about the legs will aff*ect him more than two or three 
over the back, the skin on the inner part of his legs, or about 
his flanks, being thinner and more tender than on his back. 
Only whip him enough to scare him. We do n't wish to hurt, 
but to scare the bad disposition out of him. Whatever you do, 



16 

do quickly, sharply, vigorously, but without show of anger. 
Scaring must be done at once. Never have a pitched battle 
with your horse, nor whip him till he is mad and will fight you. 
You would thus lose his confidence in you. 

TO PREVENT ROLLING IN THE STALL. 

Build a narrow platform, eighteen to twenty-four inches in 
width, slanting at an angle of thirty to forty degrees, so that it will 
form a pillow for his head and neck ; then adjust a rope so that 
as he lies down his head will naturally rest on the platform, or 
pillow. He will not roll, unless he can get his head as low as 
the floor of the stable. 

REMEDIES FOR BALKING HORSES. 

In the first place never teach your horse to balk, by giving him 
a greater load than he can carry, or requiring him to go up too 
steep a hill without permitting him to stop. If you tell him to 
stop, in going up a steep hill, it is better than to allow him to do 
it of his own accord. This will teach him that he is to stop only 
at your will, and that you are not unreasonable in your de- 
mands. I believe that all balky horses are in the first instance 
taught to balk by their careless and inconsiderate owners, who 
overload them, and allow them to stop or go, according to their 
own will. 

But what shall we do with a horse who has thoroughly learned 
to balk, and whom whipping only hardens ? Desperate remedies 
should sometimes be used for desperate cases, and you may in 
such a case either kill your horse as not being worthy the oats 
you give him, or you may fasten him to a strong carriage, put 
on a strong harness and reins, and, seating yourself firmly in the 
vehicle, drive on ; if he balks, set fire to a bunch of shavings 
or a newspaper at his heels, or a bunch of fire-crackers ; he is 
bound to go in such a case — perhaps too fast for you — but of 
this you must run your risk. It is a desperate remedy, but when 
kindness and good treatment do not succeed, such a remedy will 
succeed better, and is more humane, than beating, unmerciful 
whipping, etc., which seldom succeed at all. 



I 



17 

Caress him kindly is the general rule, and if he don't under- 
stand at once what you want him to do, he will not be so much 
excited as to jump and break things, and do everything wrong 
through fear. 

In regard to a balking team of horses, it shoiild be observed 
that almost any team, when first balked, will start kindly if you 
let them stand five or ten minutes, as though there was nothing 
wrong, and then speak to them with a steady voice, and turn 
■them a little to the right or left, so as to get them both in motion 
before they feel the pinch or the load. But if you want to start 
along a team that you are not driving yourself, that has been 
balked, fooled, and whipped for some time, go to them and hang 
the lines on their hames, or fasten them to the wagon, so that 
they will be perfectly loose ; make the driver and spectators, if 
there are any, stand off some distance to one side, so as not to 
attract the attention of the horses ; unloose their check reins, so 
that they can get their heads down, if they choose ; let them 
stand a few minutes in this condition, until you can see that they 
are a little composed. While they are standing you should be 
about their heads gentling them ; it will make them a little more 
kind, and the spectators will think you are doing something that 
they do not understand, and will not learn the secret. When 
you have them ready to start, stand bef(:)re them, and as you sel- 
dom have but one balky horse in a team, get as near in front of 
him as you can, and if he is too fast for the other horse, let his 
nose come against your breast ; this will keep him steady, for he 
will go slow rather than run on you ; turn them gently to the 
right, with the wagon ; have it stand in a favorable position for 
starting out, letting them pull on the traces as far as the tongue 
will let them go; stop them with a kind word, gentle them a 
little, and turn them back to the left, by the same process. You 
will have them under your control by this time, and as you turn 
them again to the right, steady them in the collar, and you can 
take them where you please. 

UNWILLINGNESS TO BE MOUNTED 

Generally proceeds either from playfulness — ^a which case you 

b2 



18 

must give him more hay and less oats — or momentary restive- 
ness or unwillingness to be driven ; in which latter case give 
him more oats and less hay. Wait awhile, use kind words, and 
occasionally a crack of the whip — but do not whip him. Kind- 
ness will cure that habit. 

CRir.-BITING. 

The only certain cure for this is an iron muzzle, with bars 
just wide enough to allow him to pick up his grain and draw in, 
his hay with his tongue, but not to get hold of anything with his 
teeth. 

RUNNING AWAY. 

The best way to cure this, if it is a settled habit, is to get your 
horse on a good road, and if he starts, let him go, and the moment 
he slacks, give him a sharp cut with the whip, until he has had 
as much running as he wants. 

BITING AT YOU. 

Mr. Stickney says he has seen horses whipped till nearly dead, 
but to no effect. If you can obtain something exceedingly disa- 
greeable to the taste of a horse, as some very bitter herb, saturate 
a piece of cloth, and wind it around a stick for him to bite at ; it 
will often, in connection with kind treatment, have a tendency to 
break him. A single sharp cut of the whip across the mouth on 
the instant, will sometimes do good ; but unmerciful whipping, 
raving, swearing — never ! 



RESTIVE HORSES. 

To subdue the dangerous habit of restiveness, mildness is the 
only method. Whipping, shouting, jerking, any harshness make 
the animal worse. Either kindness cures him, or he is in- 
curable. 

TO INDUCE HIM TO LIE DOWN AT NIGHT. 

Horses that never lie down when they sleep, will not do as 
■vfell as those who are in the habit of it. They perhaps are 
afi-aid of being caught by the halter, or they have already been 



19 

cast in the night, and do not like to try it again. Such horse's 
should be let loose in a stable at night, or in a large stall, without 
being tied, and furnished with a tempting bed, until the habit of 
lying down is acquired, and the fear of it removed. 

TO MAKE HIM LIE DOWN AT AXY TIME. 

Bend his left fore -leg and slip a loop over it, so that he cannot 
get it down. Then put a surcingle around his body, and fasten 
one end of a long stiap around the other fore-leg, just above the 
hoof. Then place the other end under the before-described sur- 
cingle, so as to keep the strap in the right direction ; take a short 
hold of it with your right hand ; stand on the left side of the 
horse ; grasp the bit in your left hand, pull steadily on the strap 
with your right ; bear against his shoulder till you cause him to 
move. As soon as he lifts his weight, your pulling will raise 
the other foot, and he will have to come on his knees. Keep the 
strap tight in your hand, so that he cannot straighten his leg if 
he rises up. Hold him in this position, and turn his head towards 
you ; bear against his side with your shoulder, not hard, but 
with a steady, equal pressure, and in about ten minutes he will 
lie down. As soon as he lies down, he will be completely con- 
quered, and you can handle him as you please. Take off the 
straps, and straighten out his legs ; rub him lightly about the 
face and neck with your hand the way the hair lies ; handle all 
his legs, and after he has lain ten or twenty minutes, let him get 
up again. After resting him a short time, make him lie down as 
before. Repeat the operation three or four times, which will be 
sufficient for one lesson. Give him two lessons a day, and when 
you have given him four lessons, he will lie down by taking hold 
of one foot. As soon as he is well broken to lie down in this 
way, tap him on the opposite leg with a stick when you take hold 
of his foot, and in a few days he will lie down from the mere 
motion of the stick. 

BLINDS OR BLINKERS. 

Mr. Stickney declares that all his experience with, and obser- 
vation of, horses convince him that blinkers should never b^ 



20 

used ; and that the sight of the horse, for many reasons, should 
not be interfered with, in any way. However wild or nervous a 
horse may be, he can be taught, in a very short time, to under- 
stand any object and not to fear it, however frightful at first 
sight. Horses can be broken better and in less time, without 
blinkers ; but horses that have always worn them will notice the 
sudden change, and must be treated carefully the first drive. 
After that they will drive better without than with. Blinkers 
are rapidly going out of use in the United States. The horse, 
when permitted to see fully, uses his eyes with great judgment. 
Like Rarey and Youatt, Mr. Stickney considers the horse a think- 
ing animal — much more so, indeed, than many men give signs 
of being. 

ETJLES FOK BREEDING HORSES. 

The breeding mare needs constant care. She must be kept 
in good health and condition — must be fed with care, both as re- 
gards quantity and quality ; — must be sheltered from storms and 
bad weather ; — must have exercise and room for recreation, avoid- 
ing sudden, violent exertion ; — must be kept free from the noxious 
gases of foul and ill-ventilated stables ; — should be combed and 
rubbed frequently, and, in short, everything should be done which 
tends to cultivate and sustain that condition of life, strength, action, 
and spirit, to be desired in the offspring. The forming animal 
derives no elements of its being from other source than the 
mother's system. During gestation, her vital fluid fills the foetal 
veins, and if, from any depressing or exhausting influence, that 
blood is deficient in vitality, it cannot supply that life and energy, 
that perfection of development, to the new being which a better 
condition would impart. Every influence aflTecting injuriously the 
mother's health, vitiates the life fountain of the new being ; hence 
the necessity and value of the utmost care and attention during 
the period of gestation. 

All the attention requisite before foaling, is equally important 
afterwards. In the one case, the foetus derives its nourishment 
direct from the blood of the mother ; in the next, the foal obtains 
its sustenance from the milk made from that blood, and it is not 



21 

less important that the blood be healthy and pure to insure the 
proper quantity and quality of nutriment to the young animal. 
For this reason the mare should not be put to hard work soon 
after foaling, nor, indeed, to severe and constant toil during the 
time of suckling her young. She should be well fed, and allowed 
good pasturage, affording both food and room for exercise. An 
idea that half-starved and stunted colts make tough, hardy horses, 
has long existed among a portion of the farming community ; and 
so opposed is it to all facts, so contrary to all the teachings of 
reason and philosophy, so absurd in itself, that its very existence 
is astonishing. As to the growing colt — with liberal range, he 
should have good shelter from storms and the inclemencies of the 
weather. Too often, however, after weaning, he is left to strug- 
gle on as he can, and, becoming poor and dispirited, may be seen 
shivering beside a fence, rheum running from his eyes, his rough, 
shaggy, dirty coat a habitation for vermin, and himself a sad 
specimen of poverty and misery. 

THE KIND OF STABLE FOR HORSES. 

Everything possible should be done to prevent the stable from 
being either hot or stifled. It should be kept airy, cool and whole- 
some. The ventilation should be perfect, especially in summer. 
Plaster of Paris should be used freely about the stable, to absorb 
the noxious gases. There should also be plenty of light, and the 
floor should not be steep. Steep stable-floors often cause sprung 
knees. Make the horse's home clean and comfortable. And in 
regard to light, it seems to be a matter of no doubt that horses 
kept in dark stables are frequently notorious starters, and that 
abominable habit has been properly traced to this cause. 

Give a horse a manger to feed out of, so that he can enjoy 
eating, and do not oblige him to steal his fodder from a I'ack, 
with narrow spaces, as though he did not deserve his keeping. 
It is thought that a horse will waste his hay if he is fed from a 
manger ; but he will not, if he has good hay, given in proper 
quantities. 

FAITHFUL AND JUDICIOUS GROOMING. 

Many persons go at this business as if they were rubbing the 



22 

skin of the rhinoceros, in.Mcad of that of one of the most sensi- 
tive of the animal race. A comb with part of the teeth gone 
should never be used ; a-^d whatever be the condition of the 
comb, it should be handled t^arefally about the legs and head of 
the animal. If a horse is not thus handled, he will soon become 
restive, and perhaps acquire the pernicious habit of kicking, or 
biting. 

The stabled horse, highly fed, and irregularly worked, is here 
spoken of. It would be well fur the proprietor if he were to in- 
sist — and to see that his orders ai'e really obeyed — that the fine 
coat in which he and his groom so much delight, is produced by 
honest ruhbhig, and not by a heated stable and thick clothing, and 
most of all, not by stimulating or injurious spices. 

As to the farmer's horse, regular grooming, by rendering his 
skin more sensible to the alteration of temperature, and the in- 
clemency of the weather, would be prejudicial. The horse that 
is altogether turned out, needs no grooming. The dandruff, or 
scurf, which accumulates at the roots of the hair, is a provision 
of nature to defend him from the wind and the cold. 

DAILY EXERCISE. 

Every horse should have daily exercise. A gentleman's or 
tradesman's horse should have at least two hours' exercise every 
day, in order to be kept free from disease Such horses suffer a 
great deal more from idleness than from work. 



No heap of litter should be suffered to remain during the day in 
any part of the stable. All fermenting dung should be removed, 
and gutters should be contrived for the speedy draining off of 
urine. 

KINDS AND aXJALITIES OF FOOD. 

There are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion of 
their hay ; and by some the greater part is pulled down and 
trampled under foot, in order first to cull the sweetest and best 
locks, and which could not be dons while the hay was enclosed 



23 

in the rack. The observation of this induced the adoption of 
manger-feeding, or of mixing a portion of chaff (i. e., cut feed) 
with the grain and beans. By this means the animal is com- 
pelled to chew his food ; he cannot, to any degree, waste the 
straw or hay ; the chaff is too hard and too sharp to be swal- 
lowed without sufficient mastication, and, while he is forced to 
grind that down, the oats and beans are ground with it, and yield 
more nourishment ; the stomach is more slowly filled, and there- 
fore acts better on its contents, and is not so likely to be over- 
loaded ; and the increased quantity of saliva thrown out in the 
lengthened maceration of the food, softens it, and makes it more 
fit for digestion. 

Chaff may be composed of equal quantities of clover or meadow 
hay, and wheaten, oaten or barley straw, cut into pieces of a 
quarter or half an inch in length, and mingled well together ; 
the allowance of oats or beans is afterwards added, and mixed 
with the chafl". 

For the agricultural and cart-horse, eight pounds of oats and 
two of beans should be added to every twenty pounds of chaff. 
Thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the mixture will be sufficient 
for any moderate sized horse, with fair, or even hard work. The 
dray and wagon horse may require forty pounds. Hay in the 
rack at night is, in this case, supposed to be omitted. The rack, 
however, may remain, as occasionally useful fur the sick horse, 
or to contain tares or other green feed. We would caution the 
farmer not to set apart too much damaged hay for the manufac- 
ture of the chaff. Much more injury is done by eating damaged 
hay or musty oats than is generally imagined. There will be 
sufficient saving in the diminished cost of the provender by the 
introduction of the straw, and the improved condition of the 
horse, without poisoning him with the refuse of the farm. For 
old hordes, and for those with defective teeth, chafi' is peculiarly 
useful, and for them the grain should be broken down as well as 
the fodder. 

The farmer should see that the pasturage is thick and good. 
Few grooms make good gruel. A pound of meal in a gallon 
of water should be constantly stirred till it boils, and five minutes 
afterwards. 



24 

Barley is more nutritious than oats. When barley is given, 
the quantity should not exceed a peck daily. It should always be 
bruised, and the chaff should consist of equal quantities of hay 
and barley-straw, and not cut too short. 

A horse that is fed on wheat should have very little hay. 
The proportion should not be more than one truss of hay to two 
of straw. 

Bran, or the ground husk of the wheat, used to be frequently 
given to lenefit some sick horses on account of the supposed 
advantage derived from its relaxing the bowels. 

All travelers who allow beans to their horses on a journey, 
find their spirit and condition much better from this mixture with 
their food. 

Peas are a little more nourishing than beans, and not so 
heating. 

Linseed, raw, ground, or boiled, is useful to horses in cases of 
catarrh. 

Carrots are the best root given to horses ; a good substitute 
for grass, and an excellent alterative. 

Potatoes, raw and sliced with chaff, are very good. When 
boiled or steamed, they are still better. 

Hay is most in perfection when it is about a twelve-inonth old. 
The horse would prefer it earlier, but it is neither so wholesome 
nor so nutritive, and often has a purgative quality. When it is 
about a year old, it retains or should retain somewhat of its green 
coloi", its agreeable smell and its pleasant taste. It has undergone 
the slow process of fermentation, by which the sugar which it 
contains is developed, and its nutritive quality is fully exercised. 
Old hay becomes dry and tasteless, and innutritive and unwhole- 
some. 

It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with water in which 
salt has been dissolved. It is evidently more palatable to the 
animal, who will leave the best unsalted hay for that of an infe- 
rior quality that has been moistened with brine ; and there can 
be no doubt that the salt very materially assists the progress of 
digestion. The preferable way of salting hay is to sprinkle it 
over the different layei-s as the rick is formed. 



25 

Of the value of Takes, as forming a portion of the late spring 
and summer food of the stabled and agricultural horse, there can 
be no doubt. They are cut after the pods are formed, but a con- 
siderable time before the seeds are ripe. They supply a larger 
quantity of food for a limited time than almost any other forage- 
crop. When surfeit-lumps appear on the skin, and the horse 
begins to rub himself against the divisions of the stall, and the 
legs swell, and the heels threaten to crack, a few tares, cut up 
with the chaff, or given instead of a portion of the hay, will afford 
considerable relief. Ten or twelve pounds may be allowed daily, 
and half that weight of hay substracted. 

Rye Grass affords a valuable article of food, but is inferior to 
the tare. It is not so nutritive. It is apt to scour, and, occa- 
sionally, and late in the spring, it is injurious to the horse. 

Clover is inferior to the tare and the rye grass, but neverthe- 
less, is useful when they cannot be obtained. Clover hay is, 
perhaps, preferable to meadow hay for chaff. 

THE TIMES OF FEEDING. 

The times of feeding should be as equally divided as conve- 
nience will permit ; and when it is likely that the horse will be 
kept longer than usual from home, the nose-bag should invariably 
be taken. The small stomach of the horse is emptied in a few 
hours ; and if he is suffered to remain hungry much beyond his 
accustomed time, he will afterwards devour his food so vora- 
ciously as to distend the stomach and endanger an attack of 
staggers. 

KIND OF WATER. 

Hard water, drawn fresh from the well, will assuredly make 
the coat of a horse unaccustomed to it, stare, and it will not un- 
frequently gripe and otherwise injure him. He is injured, how- 
ever, not so much by the hardness of the well water as by its 
coldness — particularly by its coldness in summer, and whe.n it is 
many degrees below the temperature of the atmosphere. The 
water in the brook and the pond, being warmed by long exposure 
to the air, as well as having become soft, the horse drin''5 freely 
of it without danger. 

c 



•26 

If the horse has easy and frequent access to water, at any 
season, he will not drink so much in the course of the day, as 
another will do, who, to cool his parched mouth, swallows as fast 
as he can, and knows not when to stop. 

On a journey, a horse should be liberally supplied with water. 
When he is a little cooled, two or three quarts may be given to 
him, and after that his feed. Before he has finished his corn, 
two or three quarts more may be offered. He will take no 
harm if this is repeated three or four times during a long and 
hot day. 

THE SENSE OF SMELL. 

As far as you gratify the horse's sense of smell, by the appli- 
cation of pleasing aromatics, so far you gain the confidence and 
favor of the horse, just as you would do by giving him a good 
dinner. 

The continual use of the nose in ihe horse is not to be over- 
looked or neglected. Since it is his mode of detecting the harm- 
lessness or hurtfulness of any object, you must always submit 
every thing to this test. If you know it is a mere whim in your 
horse, and a very unsuccessful way of detecting a steei trap from 
a coffee mill, still it is his way, and you should always satisfy 
him by letting him smell of every object he desires to, except a 
steel trap. 

TREATMENT OF THE FEET. 

The feet should be carefully examined every morning, for the 
shoes may be loose and the horse would be stopped in the middle 
of his work ; or the clenches may be raised, and endanger the 
wounding of the legs ; for the shoe may begin to press upon 
the sole or the heel, and bruises of the sole, or corn, may be the 
result. 

When the hoi'se comes in at night, and after the harness has 
heen taken off and stowed away, the heels should be well brushed 
out. Hand-rubbing will be preferable to washing. 

The feet of every horse should be stopped, if he remains in 
the stable. But little clay should be used. Cow-dung is the best 
stopping. It keeps the feet cool and elastic. Before stopping, 
the foot should be examined, between shoe and sole, to remove 
any chance stone, or detect any wound there. 



21:, 



THE AGE OF A HORSE. 

A curious mode of telling the age of a horse is believed in by 
some. It is this : After the horse is nine years old, a wrinkle 
comes on the eyelid at the upper corner of the lower lid, and 
every year thereafter he has one well defined wrinkle for every 
year over nine. If, for instance, the horse has three wrinkles, he 
is twelve ; if four, he is thirteen. Add the number of wrinkles 
to nine, and you will always get it. 

TO LEAD A COLT WITH A BROKE HORSE. 

If you should want to lead your colt by the side of another 
horse, you must first put the horse into a stable with the colt. 
You now attach a second strap to the colt's halter, and lead your 
horse up alongside of him. Then get on the broke horse and 
take one strap around his breast under the martingale, (if he 
has any on,) holding it in your left hand. This will prevent the 
colt from getting back too far ; besides, you have more^power to 
hold him, with the strap pulling against the horse's bi'east. The 
other strap take up in your right hand to prevent him from run- 
ning ahead ; then turn him about in the stable, and, if the door 
is wide enough, ride out with him in that position ; if not, take 
the broke horse out first, and stand his breast up against the 
door ; then lead the colt to the same spot and take the straps as 
before directed, one on each side of his neck, and then let some 
one start the colt out, and as the colt comes out, turn your horse 
to the left, and you will have them all right. You can manage 
any kind of a colt in this way, without trouble ; for, if he tries 
to run ahead, or pull back, the two straps will bring the two 
horses facing each other, so that you can very easily follow up 
his movements without doing much holding, and as soon as he 
stops running backward, you are right with him, and all ready to 
go ahead. If he gets stubborn and does not want to go, you can 
remove all his stubbornness by riding your horse against his 
neck, thus compelling him to turn to the right ; and as soon as 
you have turned him about a few times, he will be willing to go 
along. The next thing, af\er you are through leading him, will 



28 

be to take him into a stable and hitch him in such a way as not 
to have him pull on the halter, and as they are often troublesome 
to get into a stable the first few times, I will give you some in- 
structions about getting him in. 

TO LEAD THE COLT INTO A STABLE. 

You should lead the broken horse into the stable first, and get 
the colt, if you can, to follow in after him. If he refuses to go, 
step up to him, taking a little stick or switch in your right hand ; 
then take hold of the halter close to his head with your left hand, 
at the same time reaching over his back with your right arm so 
that you can tap him on the opposite side with your switch ; bring 
him up facing the door, tap him slightly with your switch, reach- 
ing as far back with it as you can. This tapping, by being 
pretty well back, and on the opposite side, will drive him ahead, 
and keep him close to you ; then by giving him the right direction 
with your left hand you can walk into the stable with him. I 
have walked colts into the stable this way in less than a minute, 
after men had worked at them half an hour, trying to pull them 
in. If you cannot walk him in at once in this way, turn him 
about and walk him around a while until you can get him up 
to the door without pulling at him. Then let him stand a few 
minutes, keeping his head in the right direction with the halter, 
and he will soon walk in of his own accord. Never attempt to 
pull the colt into the stable ; that would make him think at once 
that it was a dangerous place,, and if he was not afraid of it be- 
fore he would be then. Besides, we do not want him to know 
anything about pulling on the halter. If you want to tie up your 
colt, put him in a tolerably wide stall, which should not be too 
long, and should be connected by a bar, or something of that 
kind, to the partition behind it ; so that, after the colt is in, he 
cannot go far enough back to take a straight, backward pull on 
the halter ; then, by tying him in the centre of the stall, it would 
be impossible for him to pull on the halter, the partition behind 
preventing him from going back, and the halter in the centre 
checking him every time he turns to the right or left. In a stall 
of this kind you can break any horse to stand tied with a light 



29 

strap, anywhere, without his ever knowing anything about pull- 
ing. For if you have broken your horse to lead, and have taught 
him the use of the halter (which you should always do before 
you hitch him to anything), you can hitch him in any kind of a 
stall, and if you give him something to eat to keep him up to his 
place for a few minutes at first, there is not one colt in fifty that 
will pull on his halter, or ever attempt to do so. 

This is an important feature in breaking the colt, for if he is 
allowed to pull on the halter at all, and particularly if he finds 
out that he can break the halter, he will never be safe. 

KIND OF BIT, AND HOW TO USE IT. 

In first accustoming a colt to the bit, you should use a large , 
smooth snaffle, so as not to hurt his mouth, with a bar at each 
side to prevent it from pulling through either way. This should 
be attached to the head-stall of your bridle, and put it on your 
colt without any reins to it, and let him run loose in a large stable 
or shed, some time, until he becomes a little more used to the bit, 
and will bear it without trying to get it out of his mouth. Re- 
peat this several times, before you do anything more with the 
colt ; and as soon as he will bear the bit, attach a single rein to 
it, without any martingale. You should also have a halter on 
your colt, or a bridle made after the fashion of a halter, with a 
strap to it, so that you can hold or lead him about without pulling 
much on the bit. 

Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing they 
do to him, buckling it on as tight as they can draw it, to make 
him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a lot, to rua 
half a day at a time. This is one of the very worst punishments 
they can inflict on a colt, and is very injurious to a young horse 
that has been used to running in pasture with his head down, 
I have seen colts so injured in this way that they never got 
over it. 

A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put 
on the bitting harness, and when you first bit him you should 
only rein his head up to the point where he naturally holds it, 
I let that point be high or low ; he will soon learn that he cannot 
I c2 



80 

lower his head, and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in 
his mouth. This will give him an idea of raising his head to 
loosen the bit ; and then you can di'aw the bitting a little tighter 
every time you put it on, and he will still raise his head to loosen 
it. By this means you will gradually get his head and neck in 
the position you want him to carry it, and give him a nice and 
graceful carriage without hurting him, making him mad, or 
causing his mouth to get sore. Horses that have had their heads 
drawn up tightly, should not have the bitting on more than fifteen 
minutes at a time. 

HOW TO SADDLE A COLT. 

Any one who has this theory, can put a saddle on the wildest 
horse that ever grew, without any help, and without scaring him. 
The first thing will be to tie each stirrup strap into a loose knot, 
to make them short and prevent the stirrups from flying about 
and hitting him. Then double up the skirts and take the saddle 
under your right arm, so as not to frighten him with it when you 
approach. When you get to him, rub him gently a few times 
with your hand, then raise the saddle very slowly, until he can 
see it, and smell, and feel it with his nose. Then let the skirts 
loose, and rub it very gently against his neck, the way the hair 
lays, letting him hear the rattle of the skirts as he feels them 
against him ; each time a little further backward, and finally slip 
it over on his back. Shake it a little with your hand, and in less 
than five minutes you can rattle it about over his back as you 
please, and pull it ofl' and throw it on again, without his paying 
much attention to it. 

As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten the 
girth. Be careful how you do this. It often frightens the colt 
when he feels the girth binding him, and making the saddle fit 
tight on his back. You should bring up the girth very gently, 
and not draw it too tight at first, just enough to hold the saddle on. 
Move him a little, and then girth it as tight as you choose, and 
he will not mind it. 

You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right before 
you put it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt him, or 



31 

feel unpleasant to his back. It should not have any loose straps 
on the back part of it, to flap about and scare him. After you 
have saddled him in this way, take a switch in your right hand 
to tap him up with, and walk about in the stable a few times with 
your right arm over you saddle, taking hold of the reins on each 
side of his neck with your right and left hands, thus marching 
him about in tlie stable until you teach him the use of the bridle 
and can turn him about in any direction, and stop him by a gentle 
pull of the rein. Always caress him, and loose the reins a little 
every time you stop him. 

You should always be alone, and have your colt in some light 
stable or shed the first time you ride him ; the loft should be 
high, so that you can sit on his back without endangering your 
head. You can teach him more in two hours' time in a stable 
of this kind, than you could in two weeks in the common way of 
breaking colts, out ia an open place. If you follow my course 
of treatment, you need not run any risk, or have any trouble in 
riding the worst kind of a horse. You take him a step at a 
time, until you get up a mutual confidence and trust between 
yourself and horse. First teach him to lead and stand hitched ; 
next acquaint him with the saddle, and the use of the bit ; and 
then all that remains is to get on him without scaring him, and 
you can ride him as well as any horse. 

HOW TO MOUNT THE COLT. 

First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle, and all 
over, until he will stand still without holding, and is not afraid to 
see you anywhere about him. As soon as you have him well 
gentled, get a small block about one foot or eighteen inches in 
height, and set it down by the side of him, about where you 
want to stand to mount him ; step up on this, raising yourself 
very gently. Horses notice every change of position very closely, 
and if you were to step up suddenly on the block, it would be very 
apt to scare him ; but by raising yourself gradually on it, he will 
see you, without being frightened, in a position very near the 
same as when you are on his back. As soon as he will bear 
this without alarm, untie the stirrup strap next to you, and put 



32 

your left foot in the stirrup, and stand square over it, holding your 
knee against the horse, and your toe out, so as to touch him under 
the fore-shoulder with the toe of your boot. Place your right 
hand on the front of the saddle, and on the opposite side of you, 
taking hold of a portion of the mane and reins (they hang loosely 
over his neck), with your left hand, then gradually bear your 
weight on the stirrup, and on your right hand, until the horse feels 
your whole weight on the stirrup ; repeat this several times, each 
time raising yourself a little higher from the block, until he will 
allow you to raise your leg over his croup, and place yourself in 
the saddle. Another, and in some cases a better way of mount- 
ing, is to press the palm of your right hand on the off-side of the 
saddle, and as you rise, lean your weight on it. By this means 
you can mount with the girths loose, or without any girths at all. 
There are three great advantages in having a block to mount 
from. First, a sudden change of position is very apt to frighten 
a young horse that has never been handled ; he will allow you 
to walk to him, and stand by his side without scaring at you, be- 
cause you have gentled him to that position ; but if you get down 
on your hands and knees and crawl towards him, he will be very 
much frightened ; and upon the same principle, he would frighten 
at your new position if you had the power to hold yourself over 
his back without touching him. Then the first great advantage 
of the block is to gradually gentle him to that new position in 
which he will see you when you ride him. Secondly, by the 
process of holding your weight in the stirrups, and on your hand, 
you can gradually accustom him to your weight, so as not to 
frighten him by having him feel it all at once. And, in the third 
place, the block elevates you so that you will not have to make a 
spring in order to get on the horse's back, but from it you can 
gradually raise yourself into the saddle. When you take these 
precautions, there is no horse so wild but what you can mount 
him without making him jump. I have tried it on the worst 
horses that could be found, and have never failed in any case. 
When mounting, j&ur horse should always stand without being 
held. A horse is never well broke when he has to be held 
with a tight rein when mounting; and a colt is never so safe to 



33 

mount as when you see that assurance of confidence, and absence 
of fear, which cause him to stand without holding. 

HOW TO RIDE THE COLT. 

When you want him to start, do not touch him on the side 
with your heel, or do anything to frighten him and make him 
jump. But speak to him kindly, and if he does not start, pull 
him a little to the left until he starts ; then let him walk off slowly 
with the reins loose. Walk him around in the stable a few 
times until he gets used to the bit, and you can turn him about 
in every direction and stop him as you please. It will be well 
to get on and off a good many times, until he gets perfectly used 
to it before you take him out of the stable. After you have 
trained him in this way, which should not take more than two or 
three hours, you can ride him anywhere you choose without ever 
having him jump or make an effort to throw you. 

When you first take him out of the stable, be very gentle with 
him, as he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run, and 
be easier frightened than he was while in the stable ; but you 
will nevertheless find him pretty well broke, and will be able to 
mana2;e him without trouble or danger. 

When you first mount a colt, take a little the shortest hold on 
the left rein, so that if anything frightens him, you can prevent 
him from jumping by pulling his head around to you. This 
operation of pulling a horse's head around against his side, will 
prevent him from jumping ahead, rearing up, or running away. 
If he is stubborn and will not go, you can make him move by 
pulling hits head around to one side, when whipping him would 
have no effect. And turning him around a few times will make 
him dizzy, and then by letting him have his head straight, and 
giving him a little touch with the whip, he will go along without 
any trouble. 

Never use martingales on a colt when you first ride him ; 
every movement of the hand should go right to the bit in the 
direction in which it is applied to the reins, without a martin- 
gale to change the direction of the force applied. You can 
guide the colt much better without it, and teach him the use of 



34 

the bit in much less time. Besides, martingales would prevent 
you from pulling his head round if he should try to jump. 

After your colt has been ridden until he is gentle and well ac- 
customed to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he carries 
his head too high or his nose too far out, to put martingales on 
him. 

You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as to 
heat, worry, or tire him. Get off as soon as you see he is a little 
fatigued ; gentle him and let him rest ; this will make him kind 
to you, and prevent him from getting stubborn or mad. 

TO BREAK A HORSE TO HARNESS. 

Take him in a tight stable, as you did to ride hira ; take the 
harness and go through the same process that you did with the 
saddle, until you get him familiar with them, so you can put them 
on his back and rattle them about without his caring for them. 
As soon as he will bear them, put on the lines, caress him as 
you draw them over him, and drive him about in the stable till 
he will bear them over his hips. The lines are a great aggra- 
vation to some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you 
were to raise a v/hip over them. As soon as he is familiar with 
the harness and lines, take him out and put him by the side of a 
gentle horse, and go through the same process that you did with 
the balking horse. Always use a bridle without blinds when 
you are breaking a horse to harness. 

TO HITCH A HORSE IN A SULKY. 

Lead him to and around it ; let him look at it, touch it with 
his nose, and stand by it until he does not care for it ; then pull 
the shafts a little to the left, and stand your horse in front of the 
off wheel. Let some one stand on the right side of the horse 
and hold him by the bit, while you stand on the left side, facing 
the sulky. This will keep him straight. Run your left hand 
back and let it rest on his hip, and lay hold of the shafts with 
your right, bringing them up very gently to the left hand, which 
still remains stationary. Do not let anything but your arm touch 



"^5 

his back, and as soon as you have the shafts square over him, let 
the person on the opposite side take hold of one of them, and 
lower them very gently to the shaft bearers. Be very slow and 
deliberate about hitching ; the longer time you take, the better, 
as a general thing. When you have the shafts placed, shake 
them slightly, so that he will feel them against each side. As 
soon as he will bear them without scaring, fasten your braces, 
etc., and start him along very slowly. Let one man lead the 
horse to keep him gentle, while the other gradually works back 
with the lines till he can get behind and drive him. After you 
have driven him in this way a short distance, you can get into 
the sulky, and all will go right. It is very important to have 
your horse go gently when you first hitch him. After you have 
walked him awhile, there is not half so much danger of his 
scaring. Men do very wrong to jump up behind a horse to drive 
him as soon as they have him hitched. There are too many 
things for him to comprehend all at once. The shafts, the lines, 
the harness, and the rattling of the sulky, all tend to scare him, 
and he must be made familiar with them by degrees. If your 
horse is very wild, I would advise you to put up one foot the first 
time you drive him. 

CHOKING, A MEANS OF SUBDUING THE HORSE. 

This is another method of conquering a skittish, stubborn or 
refractory horse. It is resoi'ted to in cases where the measures 
before described fail to produce the desired effect. The princi- 
ples on which the plan of choking are based, are, that you must 
make a powerful appeal to the intelligence of the animal by 
physical means before you can subdue him. Now we know that 
most animals, in fighting, seize each other by the throat, and that 
a dog thus held by his antagonist for a few minutes, on being 
released, is often so thoroughly cowed that no human artifice can 
induce him to again resume the unequal contest. It is, then, 
reasonable to suppose that choking will have a similar effect on 
the horse. When it can be done without injuring the animal, it 
is an easy mode of subduing him, for by its operations he becomes 
docile, and will thereafter receive any instruction which he can 



36 

be made to understand. Teaching the horse, by this means, to 
lie down at our bidding, tends to keep him permanently gentle 
towards man, for it is a perpetual reminder of his subdued con- 
dition. 

It requires a good deal of practice to tame a horse success- 
fully by choking ; also a nice judgment to know when he is 
choked sufficiently, as there is a bare possibility that he might 
get more than would be good for him. We advise persons not 
perfectly familiar with a horse to resort rather to the strapping 
and throwing-down process, unless the animal to be operated 
upon is so vicious and intractible that he cannot be cured by it. 
It is the fault of most people who have owned a horse to imagine 
that they are experts in his management ; while, on the contrary, 
many professional horsemen are the very worst parties to attempt 
his subjugation. 

In practicing the choking process, retire with the animal to 
be operated upon into a close stable, with plenty of litter upon 
the floor (tanbark or sawdust is preferable). In the first place 
fasten up the left fore-leg with a strap, in such a manner that it 
will be permanently secured. Then take a broad strap with a 
buckle, or buckle-irame, at the end, and pass it around the neck 
just back of the jaw-bone. Draw the strap as tight as possible, 
so tight as to almost arrest the horse's breathing. The strap 
must not be buckled, but held in this position to prevent slipping 
back. The animal will struggle for a few minutes, when he will 
become perfectly quiet, overpowered by a sense of suffocation ; 
the veins in his head will swell ; his eyes lose their fire ; his 
knees totter and become weak ; a slight vertigo will ensue, and 
he will grow gradually exhausted. By now backing him around 
the stable, he will come down on his knees, in which position 
it is an easy matter to push him on his side, when his throat 
should be released. You must now operate with the horse in 
the same manner as described after getting him down by straps. 
Speak kindly to him, rub him gently the way the hair lies, fondle 
him in various ways, and he will be completely subdued. You 
should not atempt to fondle him, however, until you are satisfied 
that he has got over the excitement which the choking caused 



37 

in him. It is only necessary in extreme cases to repeat the 
operation of choking, as no horse can effectually resist its terri- 
ble effects. 

It should be constantly borne in mind that the operator must 
not be boisterous or violent, and that the greatest possible degree 
of kindness is absolutely essential. When the horse is prostrate 
he should be soothed until his eyes show that he has become 
perfectly tranquil. 

There is another process of choking. After tying up your 
horse to the manger, make friends with him by some one of the 
coaxing processes heretofore given, and when you get him in 
thorough good humor with you, begin the choking by seizing 
him on the throat near the jaw, at the same time holding on to 
his mane with your left hand. When you have exhausted him 
sufficiently, let go the mane and rap him gently on the fore-legs 
until he lies down ; or you may touch him with your foot in- 
stead. After he is down, rub him gently, speak kindly to him, 
and, as soon as he is properly composed, fondle and caress 
him. 

GENERAL RULES, AND REMARKS. 

In taming the horse, either by choking or any of the other 
processes here given, the following rules should be observed : 
First — When forcing down the horse in either of the ways de- 
scribed, be careful of his neck. Do not let him fall upon that, or 
he may break it, as the spine of the horse is easily broken. 
Second — Do not force him down violently under any circum- 
stances. The way to get him down is by patiently choking him 
and waiting until he goes down easily and from sheer exhaus- 
tion. Thirdly — Keep him very quiet by stroking or patting him 
with your hand in a gentle and delicate manner, until he is 
entirely over the excitement which your operations have caused 
in him. You can generally tell when he is appeased by the 
expression of his eyes. Fourthly — In backing the horse, never 
use violence. Hold the halter and off rein in your left hand, 
while managing him to bring him down. 

In teaching a horse to follow you, and in curing him of kick- 
ing or biting, or balking, or indeed any bad habit, the choking 

D 



38 

operation is resorted to with equal success as in the case of 
taming or breaking. If he continues stubborn, you have only to 
repeat the operation, giving him one or tvi^o lessons a day, and 
in a short time he will be perfectly subdued. A young horse 
learns to obey quicker than an older one. When you get a 
horse down by any of the processes we have mentioned, a quarter 
of an hour or twenty minutes is ample time to keep him pros- 
trate for tiie purpose of suVyugation. Breathing into a horse's 
nostrils when he is down is practiced by some horse-tamers, and 
this is undoubtedly a soothing operation, as it brings you into 
close contact with the animal, thus giving him an opportunity of 
examining you with his nose — a process peculiar to horses. You 
should always litter your stable well when you perform these 
operations of flooring the horse. Clean straw or tanbark, or 
anything to make a soft stable bottom, will answer. 

TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU. 

Turn him out into a large stable or shed, where there is no 
chance to get out, with a halter or bridle on. Go to him and 
gentle him a little ; take hold of the halter and turn him towards 
you, at the same time touching him lightly over the hips with a 
long whip. Lead him the length of the stable, rubbing him on 
the neck, saying, in a steady tone of voice, as you lead him, 
*' Come along, my boy ! " or use his name instead of my boy, if 
you choose. Every time you turn, touch him slightly with the 
whip, to make him step close up to you, and then caress him 
with your hand. He will soon leann to hurry up to escape the 
whip, and be caressed, and you can make him follow you around 
without taking hold of the halter. If he should stop and turn 
from you, give him a few sharp cuts about the hind legs, and he 
will soon turn his head towards you, when you must always caress 
him. A few lessons of this kind will make him run atter you, 
when he sees the motion of the whip — in twenty or thirty minutes 
he will follow you around the stable. After you have given him 
two or three lessons in the stable, take him in a small lot and 
train him ; and from thence you can take him into the road, and 
make him follow you anywhere, and run after you. 



39 



TO MAKE A HORSE STAND WITHOUT HOLDING. 

After you have well broken him to follow you, stand him in 
the centre of the stable — begin at the head to caress him, arid 
gradually work backwards. If he moves, give him a cut with 
the whip, and put him back to the same spot from where he 
started. If he stands, caress him as before, and continue gent- 
ling him in this way until you can get around him without making 
him move. Keep walking around him, increasing your pace, 
and only touch him occasionally. Enlarge your circle as you 
walk around, and if he then moves, give him another cut with 
the whip, and put him back to his place. If he stands, go to 
him frequently and caress him, and then walk round him again. 
Do not keep him in one position too long at a time, but make 
him come to you occasionally, and follow you around the stable. 
Then stand him in another place, and proceed as before. You 
should not train him more than half an hour at a time. 

TO PREVENT A HORSE FROM BEING SCARED. 

This process is very simple. Whenever a horse scares at 
objects on going along the road, always stop him, and let him 
face the object. Lead him slowly towards it, and let him touch 
it with his nose. Take the pains to do this on every occasion, 
and it will soon break him entirely. If your horse is frightened 
■at an umbrella, you can soon learn him to be used to that. Go 
into the stable with him, and first let him look at the umbrella 
before it is opened — let him touch it with his nose. Open it a 
little way, and then let him see it, and finally open it wide. By 
ordinary patience you can soon learn the horse to have the um- 
brella opened suddenly in his face, without his being afraid of it. 
By a similar treatment you can break any horse from scaring at 
almost anything that may look frightful to him. If you wish to 
make a trial of this theory, just take a horse into the stable, and 
let him examine the frightful object a few minutes, after his mode 
of examining things, and you will be perfectly satisfied. There 
is a singular fact connected with taming the horse that I would 
have never believed if I had not tried it. If you accustom him 
to any particular object by showing it to him on one side, only, he 



40 

will not be afraid when he sees it with the eye on that side, but 
he will be afraid if you approach him with it on the other side. 
It is therefore necessary to pacify him on both sides in all cases. 
After you have accustomed him to the umbrella, or whatever you 
may wish to make him familiar wilh, on his right side, repeat 
the operation on the left side in the same manner as if you had 
not approached him at all. 

RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN FEEDING. 

Never give a horse whole grain. By bruising it, and wetting 
it with soft water, you save thirty per cent, of its nutritious 
effects. Steam it in preference to wetting, if you have facilities 
for doing so. Feed your horse two hours before he begins his 
day's work. Give him the largest feed at night. Never tie him 
up to a rack ; it is cruel to thus prevent a horse from lying down 
when he is tired. The best way is to take away your rack alto- 
gether, and arrange your stable so as to make it unnecessary to 
tie up the horse. The stable should always be dry and well 
littered. Never give your horse hard water to drink, if soft 
water is to be had. If you cannot get soft water, draw the hard 
water out of the well two hours before you let him drink it. 
Beans should be full a year old before they are fit to feed to 
horses ; they should be bruised, the same as grain, not ground. 
Youatt recommends for horse feed, the following mixture : Cut 
hay, two parts ; cut straw, three parts — add to this a quantity of 
bruised beans, oats, or other grain — wet the whole with soft 
water, and mix it well. Do not feed your horse too much hay, 
as it is not only a waste of provender, but when he is put to work 
with an overloaded stomach it endangers his wind. If left to 
pull hay out of the rack at pleasure, a horse will eat and waste 
some thirty pounds a day, whereas, by cutting up his hay and 
mixing it with other feed, as above described, ten pounds is an 
ample abundance for twenty-four hours. Horses, when worked, 
should be fed three or four times a day with a mixture of hay, 
straw and grain, as above described. Give them their food in 
the manger, and be careful that it is sweet and clean. By follow- 
ing these rules, your horses will always be in good condition — 



41 

will not have that swelled belly so peculiar to animals who are 
allowed to fill their stomachs with hay — and will usually enjoy 
good health. 

RULES FOR PURCHASING A HORSE. 

When yon are looking to purchase a horse, first examine the 
eyes well. The best judges are sometimes deceived in the 
-eyes, therefore you cannot be too careful. Clearness of the Eyes 
is a sure indication of their goodness ; but this is not all that 
should be attended to : the eyelids, eyebrows, and all the other 
parts, must also be considered ; for many horses, whose eyes 
appear clear and brilliant, go blind at seven or eight years old. 
Therefore be careful to observe whether the parts between the 
eyelids and the eyebrows are free from bunches, and whether 
the parts round the under eyelids be full, or swelled ; for these 
are indications that the eyes will not last. When the eyes are 
remarkably flat, or sunk within their orbits, it is a bad sign ; 
also when they look dead and lifeless. The iris, or circle that 
surrounds the sight of the eye, should be distinct, and of a pale, 
variegated, cinnamon color, (or this is always a sure sign of a 
good eye, and it adds beauty to the appearance of the animal. 

In the next place, examine the Teeth, as you would not wish 
to purchase an old horse, nor a very young one for service. 

The Feet should next be regarded ; for a horse with bad feet 
is like a house with a weak foundation, and will do little service. 
The feet should be smooth and tough, of a middle size, without 
wrinkles, and neither too hard and brittle, nor too soft ; the Heels 
should be firm, and not spongy and rotten ; the Frogs horny and 
dry ; the Soles somewhat hollow, like the inside of a dish or 
bowl. Such feet will never disappoint your expectations, and 
such only should be chosen. 

Particular regard should be had to the Shoulders ; they should 
not be too much loaded, for a horse with heavy shoulders 
can never move well ; and on the other hand, one that has very 
thin shoulders, and a narrow chest, though he may move briskly 
so long as he is sound, yet he is generally weak, and easily 
lamed in the shoulders ; a medium should therefore be chosen. 

d2 



42 

The Body, or Carcass, should neither be too small nor too 
large. The Back should be straight, or have only a moderate 
sinking below the Withers ; for when the back of a horse is 
low, or higher behind than before, it is both very ugly and a sign 
of weakness. The back should also be a proper length. The 
Ribs should be large, the Flanks imooth and full, and the Hind- 
parts, or uppermost Haunches, not higher than the shoulders. 
When the horse trots before you, observe if his haunches cover 
his fore-knees. A horse with a short hind-quarter does not look 
well. 

The next thing to be regarded in a horse is his Wind, which 
maybe easily judged of by the motion of his flanks. A bi'oken- 
winded horse also pinches in his flanks, with a very slow motion, 
and drops them suddenly, which maybe easily perceived. Many 
horses breathe thick that are not broken-winded ; indeed, any 
horse will in foggy weather, or if foul fed, without sufficient ex- 
ercise ; but if a horse has been in good keeping, and had proper 
exercise, and yet has these symptoms, there is some defect, either 
natural or accidental ; such as a narrow chest, or some cold that 
has effected the lungs. 

There are other particulars that should be observed in choos- 
ing a horse. If his Head be large and fleshy, and his Neck 
thick and gross, he will ahvays go heavy on the hand, and there- 
fore such should never be chosen. A horse that has his Hocks 
very wide, seldom moves well, and one that has them too near 
will chafe and cut his legs by crossing them. Fleshy-legged 
horses are generaly subject to' the Grease, and other infirmities 
of that kind, and therefore should not be chosen. 

The Temper of a horse should be particularly attended to. 
Avoid a fearful horse, which you may know at first sight by his 
starting, crouching, or creeping, if you approach him. A hot 
and fretful horse is also to be avoided, but the buyer should be 
careful to distinguish between a hot, fretful horse, and one that 
is eager and craving. The former begins to fret the moment he 
is out of the stable, and continues in that humor till he has quite 
fatigued himself; and the latter only endeavors to be foremost in 
the field, and is truly valuable ; he has those qualities that resem- 



43 

ble prudence and courage ; the other those of intemperate heat 
and rashness. 

A horse that goes with his fore feel low is very apt to stumble ; 
and there are some that go so near the ground that they stumble 
most on even roads ; and the dealers, to remedy this, put heavy 
shoes on their feet, for the heavier a horse's shoes are, the higher 
he will lift his feet. Care also should be taken that the horse 
does not cut one leg with the other. A horse that goes near the 
ground will cut the low side of the fetlock joint, but one that goes 
high cuts below the knee, which is called the speedy cut. A 
horse that lifts his feet high, generally trots fast, but is not the 
easiest for the rider. Some horses cut with the spurn of the 
foot, and some with the heel ; but this you may soon perceive 
by their standing ; for if a horse points the front of his foot in- 
ward, he cuts with the spurn, and if outward, with the heel. 

These few instructions may be of use in purchasing horses ; 
but I advise every one to got some experimental knowledge of 
them before he trusts to his own judgment, for the dealers have 
so many arts to hide the defects of their horses, that the best 
judges are often deceived. 



DISEASES AND THEIU CUEE. 



TO MIX A BALL. 

A ball should never weigh over an ounce and a half; it should 
be an inch in diameter, and two to three inches long ; mix the 
medicine whatever it may be, with oil and meal flour, or any simi- 
lar substance. Mix only for a few days at a time, lest they become 
hard and injui'e the horse. 

TO GIVE A BALL. 

Never use an iron or wooden instrument to push it down. 
Back the horse in the stall, talk to him in a kindly tone all the 



"44 

while, have the ball in the right hand, with the left gently draw 
out the tongue and hold it on (he off side of the mouth, pressing 
the fingers against the side of the lower jaw. Now with the 
right hand pass the ball down the throat, not losing your hold of 
it, nor letting it touch the tongue or sides of the mouth, until it 
reaches the palate, then give it a toss, instantly withdrawing the 
hand, and give the horse a slight tap under the chin, and down 
it will go. 

GLANDERS. 

The earliest symptoms of Glanders is an incereased discharge 
from the nostril, small in quantity, constantly flowing, of a watery 
charcter, and a little mucus mingling with it. 

If a horse is in the highest condition, yet has this small watery 
constant discharge, and especially from one nostril, no time 
should be lost in separating him from his companions. 

Glanders have often been confounded with strangles, and by 
those who ought to have known better. Strangles are peculiar 
to young horses. They have also been confounded with catarrh 
or cold ; but the distinction between them is plain enough. Fever, 
and loss of appetite and sore throat, accompany cold. In glan- 
ders, there is seldom cough of any consequence, and generally 
no cough at all. 

In a well settled case of glanders it is not worth while, except 
by way of experiment at a veterinary school, to attempt any 
remedies. The chances of cure are too remote, and the danger 
of infection too great. 

If, however, remedial measures are resorted to, a pure atmos- 
phere is that which should first be tried. Turn out the horse, 
and, if practicable, on a salt marsh — but much caution is 
requisite, as the grass, and even the fences may receive the 
glanderous matter ; and, hardening on them, it may months after- 
ward, communicate the disease to horses ; and there is not yet 
decided proof that sheep and cattle are not subject to the same 
malady. 

DISEASES OF THE TEETH. 

Of the diseases of the teeth in the horse,' we know little. 
Carious or hollow teeth are occasionally, but not often, seen ; but 



.45 

the edges of the grinders, from the wearing off of the enamel, 
or the irregular growth of the teeth, become rough, and wound 
the inside of the cheek ; it is then necessary to adopt a sum- 
mary, but effectual mode of cure ; namely, to rasp them smooth. 
Many bad ulcers have been produced in the mouth by neglect of 
this. 

The teeth sometimes grow irregularly in length. They should 
be reduced to the level of the others with a saw, and occasionally 
looked to, because the difficulty will return. Decayed teeth 
should be removed to prevent injury to the other teeth and to 
the jaw. 

Fever, cough, catarrhal affections generally, disease of the 
eyes, cutaneous affections, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, and general 
derangement, will frequently be traced by the careful observer 
to irritation from teething, in the colt. 

It is a rule scarcely admitting of the slightest deviation, that, 
when young horses are laboring under any febrile affection, the 
mouth should be examined, and if the tushes are prominent and 
pushing against the gums, a cut in the form of a cross should be 
made upon them. Relief will often be immediate. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 

The Common Ivjlammalion is generally sudden in its attack. 
The lids will be found swelled and the eyes partialy closed, 
and some weeping. The inside of the lid will be red, some red 
streaks visible on the white of the eye, and the corner slightly 
dim. Cooling applications to the eye, as the Goulard's extract 
or tincture of opium, with mash-diet, and gentle physic, will 
usually abate the evil ; or the inflammation will subside without 
medical treatment. 

POLL-EVIL. 

From the horse rubbing and sometimes striking his poll against 
tlie lower end of the manger, or hanging back in the stall and 
bruising the part with the halter — or from the frequent and 
painful stretching of the ligaments and muscles by unnecessary 
tight reining, and, occasionally, from a violent blow on the 



46 

poll, inflammation ensues, and a swelling appears, hot, tender, 
and painful. 

The first thing to be atterapt'd is to abate the inflammation by 
bleeding, physic, and the application of cold lotions to the part. 
In a very early period of the case, a blister might have consid- 
erable effect. Strong purgatives should also be employed. By 
these means the tumor will sometimes be dispersed. This sys- 
tem, however, must not be pursued too far. If the swelling 
increases, and the heat and tenderness likewise increase, matter 
will form in the tumor ; and then our object should be to hasten 
its formation by warm fomentations, poultices, or stimulating 
embrocations. As soon as the matter is formed, which may be 
known by the softness of the tumor, and before it has time to 
spread around and eat into the neighboring parts, it should be 
evacuated. Now comes the whole art of treating poll-evil ; the 
opening into the tumor must he so contrived that all the matter 
shall run out, and continue afterwards to run out as quickly as it 
is formed, and not collect at the bottoni of the ulcer, irritating 
and corroding it. This can be etfected by a seton alone. The 
needle should enter at the top of the tumor, penetrate through its 
bottom, and be brought out at the side of the neck, a little below 
the abscess. Without anything more than this, except frequent 
fomentation with warm water, in order to keep the pan clean, 
and to obviate inflammation, poll-evil in its early stage will fre- 
quently be cured. 

STRANGLES. 

This is a disease principally incident to young horses. It is 
preceded by a cough, and can at first be scarcely distinguished 
from common cough, except that there is more discharge from 
the nostiil, of a yellowish color, mixed with pus, and genei-ally 
without smell. 

As soon as the tumor under the jaw is decidedly apparent, the 
part should be actively blistered. From the thickness of skin, 
poultices, fomentations, etc., are of little avail. The blister will 
also abate the internal inflammation and soreness of the throat, 
and thus lessen the cough and wheezing. 

As soon as the swelling is soft on its summit, and evidently 



47 

contains matter, it should be freely and deeply lanced. The 
remainder of the treatment will depend on the symptoms. If 
there is much fever, and evident affection of the chest, and which 
should carefiilly be distinguished from the oppression and choking 
occasioned by the pressure of the tumor, it will be proper to 
bleed. In the majority of cases, however, bleeding will not only 
be unnecessary, but injurious. A few cooling medicines, as 
niter, emetic tartar, and perhaps digitalis, may be given, as the 
case requires. 

PALSY. 

It commences generally in one hind-leg, or perhaps both are 
equally affected. The animal can scarcely walk — he walks on 
his fetlocks instead of his soles — he staggers at every motion. 
At length he falls. He is raised with difficulty, or he never 
rises again. 

The treatment is simple. It should commence with bleeding 
until the pulse begins to falter or the horse to reel. To this 
should follow a strong cathartic. The loins should be covered 
with a mustard poultice frequently renewed. The horse should 
be warmly clothed, supplied plentifully with mashes, but without 
a kernel of grain in them : and frequent injections adminis- 
tered. 

MANGE 

Is a pimpled or vesicular eruption. After awhile the vesicles 
break, or the cuticle and the hair fall off, and there is, as in 
obstinate siufeit, a bare spot covered with scurf — some fluid 
oozing from the skin beneath, and this changing to a scab, which 
likewise soon peels off, and leaves a wider spot. This process 
b attended with considerable itching and tenderness, and thick- 
ening of the skin, which soon becomes more or less folded, or 
puckered. The mange generally first appears on the neck at 
the root of the mane, and its existence may be suspected even 
before the blotches appear, and when there is only considerable 
itchiness of the part, by the ease with which the short hair 
at the root of the mane is plucked out. From the neck it 
spreads upward to the head, or downward to the withers and 
back, and occasionally extends over the whole carcass of the 
horse. 



48 

One cause of it is neglected or inveterate surfeit. Several 
instances are on record in which poverty of condition, and gen- 
eral neglect of cleanliness, preceded or produced the most violent 
mange. The most common cause is contagion. Amidst the 
whole list of diseases to which the horse is exposed, there is not 
one more highly contagious than mange. If it once gets into a 
stable, it spreads through it, for the slightest contact seems suffi- 
cient for the communication of this noisome complaint. 

If the same brush and currycomb is used on all the horses, the 
propagation of mange is assured ; and horses feeding in the same 
pasture with a mangy one rarely escape, from the propensity 
they have to nibble one another. 

The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the 
condition of the patient. If mange is the result of poverty, 
and the animal is much debilitated, bleeding will increase the 
evil, and will probably deprive the constitution of the power of 
rallying. Physic, however, is indispensable in every case. But 
mange in the horse resembles itch in the human being — medi- 
cine alone will never effect a cure. There must be some local 
application. Sulphur is indispensable for mange. In an early 
and not very acute state of mange, equal portions of sulphur, 
turpentine, and train-oil, gently but well rubbed on the part, will 
be applied with advantage. A tolerably stout brush, or even a 
currycomb, lightly applied, should be used, in order to remove 
the dandrufi" or scurf After that, the horse should be washed 
with strong soap and water as far as the disease has extended ; 
and, when he has been thoroVighly dried, the ointment should 
be well rubbed in with the naked hand, or with a piece of 
flannel. 

During the application of the ointment, and as soon as the 
physic has set, an alterative ball or powder should be daily given. 
If, after some days have passed, no progress should appear to 
have been made, half a pound of sulphur should be well mixed 
with a pint of oil of tar, or, if that is not to be obtained, a pint 
of Barbadoes tar, and the affected parts rubbed, as before. On 
every fifth or sixth day, the ointment should be washed off with 
warm soap and water. The progress towards cure will thus be 



49 

ascertained, and the skin will be cleansed, and its pores opened 
for the more effectual application of the ointment. 

It will be prudent to give two or three dressings after the 
horse has been apparently cured, and to continue the alteratives 
for ten days or a fortnight. 

SURFEIT. 

Large pimples or eruptions often appear suddenly on the skin 
of the horse, and especially in the spring of the year. The 
disease most frequently appears when the skin is irritable during 
or after the process of moulting, or when it sympathizes wii-h 
any disorder of the stoniach. It has been known to follow the 
eating of poisonous herbs or mowburnt hay, but, much oftencr, 
it is to be traced to exposure to cold when the skin was previously 
irritable and the horse heated by exercise. 

If there is simple eruption, without any marked infla;Timatory 
action, alteratives should be resorted to. There is no better 
alterative than that which is in common use, pulverized antimony, 
niter, and sulphur. They should be given on several successive 
nights. The night is better than the morning, because the 
warmth of the stable will cause the antimony and sulphur to act 
more powerfully on the skin. The horse should be warmly 
clothed — half an hour's walking exercise should be given, an 
additienal rug thrown over him — such green feed as can be pro- 
cured should be used in moderate quantities, and the chill should 
be taken from the water. 

Should the eruption continue or assume a more violent charac. 
ter, bleeding and aloes must be had recourse to, but neither 
should be carried to any extreme. The physic having set, the 
alteratives should again be had recourse to, and attention should 
be paid to the comfort and diet of the horse. 

TETANUS OR LOCKED JAW. 

The horse, for a day or two, does not appear to be quite well ; 
he does not feed as usual ; he partly chews his food, and drops 
it ; and he gulps his water. 

The ears are erect, pointed forward, and immovable ; if the 

E 



50 

horse is spoken to, or threatened to be struck, they change not 
their position. 

The treatment of tetanus is simple — the system must he Iran- 
quilized. The grand agent in accomplishing this is copious 
bleeding. The animal should be bled until he falls, or the pulse 
evidently falters. Twenty pounds of blood have been safely 
taken in such case. 

The profuse bleeding will generally relax the muscles of the 
jaw, so that a dose of physic can be administered. Eight or ten 
drachms of aloes should be given. If the remission of the 
spasm is slight, there is another purgative — not so certain in its 
action, but more powerful when it does act — the farina of the 
Croton nut. 

Clysters will be useful in assisting the action of the purga- 
tive. A solution of Epsom salts will constitute the safest and 
best injection. As to medicine, opium is not only a valuable 
drug, but it is that on which alone dependence can be placed in 
this disease. It will be borne in doses, from half a drachm to 
two drachms. 

Gentle friction with the hand along the course of the spine, 
and the application of an opiate liniment, is highly useful. 

WARTS. 

There are some caustics available, but frequently they must 
be removed by an operation. If the root is very small, it may 
be snipped asunder, close to the skin, with a pair of scissors, 
and touched with the lunar caustic. If the pedicle or stem is 
somewhat larger, a ligature of waxed silk should be passed firmly 
round it, and tightened every day. 

BOTS 

Are caused by the egg of the Gad-fly, being licked from the 
skin of the horse, and thus conveyed to the stomach, where they 
are hatched, cling to the stomach, and are finally evacuated. 

Some writers, as Youatt and others, contend that they are in- 
curable, while others recommend fresh blood, sweetened milk, or 
anything that will nauseate slightly. A writer in the Eastern 
Agriculturalist recommends giving a few sheaves of barley. 



61 

It is seldom I pay any attention to them, but when I do, it is 
in the use of some simple remedy, like sweetened milk, some- 
times followed by half a pint of ground mustard seed. 

RABIES, OR MADNESS. 

This is a fearful disease of the nervous system. It results 
from the bite of a rabid animal, and, most commonly, of the 
companion and friend of the horse — the coach-dog. 

The horse goes out to his usual work, and, for a certain time 
and distance, performs it as well as he has been accustomed to 
do ; then he stops all at once — trembles, heaves, paws, staggers 
and falls. 

When the disease can be clearly connected with a previous 
bite, the sooner the animal is destroyed the better, for there is no 
cure. If the symptoms bear considerable resemblance to rabies, 
although no bite is suspected, the horse should at least be slung, 
and the medicine, if any is administered, given in the form of a 
drink, and with the hand well protected ; for if it should be 
scratched in balling the horse, or the skin should have been pre- 
viously broken, the saliva of the animal is capable of commu- 
nicating the disease. 

If a horse is bitten by a dog under suspicious circumstances, 
he should be carefully examined, and every wound, and even the 
slightest scratch, well burned with the lunar caustic (nitrate of 
silver). The scab should be removed and the operation repeated 
on the third day. The hot iron does not answer so well, and 
other caustics are not so manageable. The caustic must reach 
every part of the wound. 

FITS OR EPILEPSY. 

The only hope of cure consists in discovering the cause of 
the fits ; and an experienced practitioner must be consulted, if 
the animal is valuable. Generally speaking, however, the cause 
is so difficult to discover, and the habit of having fits is so soon 
formed, and these fits will so frequently return, even at a great 
distance of time, that he who values his own safety, or the lives 
of his family, will cease to use an epileptic horse. 



02 

GALLS ON HORSES, ETC. 

One of the best means to prevent galls on horses, is to wash 
the parts most liable to injury with whisky, saturated with alum. 
The following is an excellent receipt for an ointment for wounds 
and sores of all kinds, and for horses, when galled by the saddle 
or collar, and also for broken chilblains : Take of honey twelve 
ounces, yellow beeswax four ounces, compound galbanum plaster 
six ounces, sweet oil half a pint. Put the honey into a jar by 
the fire, then melt the other ingredients and mix them together, to 
be spread very thin on linen, and changed twice a day. 



This disease is so well known that nothing need be said of 
its symptoms, causes or effects. Twenty remedies at least are 
known to the Veterinary Physician, and probably every farmer 
knows of five. About the best 1 know of is a mixture of equal 
parts of Balsam Copavia and Balsam of Fir, with enough of 
magnesia to enable you to make into balls about the size of a 
crab apple, and give one every night and morning, until a cure 
is effected. 

TO CURE WORMS. 

Worms are indicated by a dull, sleepy appearance of the 
eyes ; by the rough appearance of the hair and want of gloss, 
and by the horse losing flesh without any other apparent cause. 
He also shows less inclination to eat, and if too long neglected, 
worms will often pass through the bowels and be discharged in 
the dung. 

A pint of neat's foot oil followed in about 24 hours with half 
pint of castor oil is the best remedy known. 

Two drachms of Tartar Emetic, mixed with a little ground 
glass or filings of tin, compose an excellent remedy. 

COLIC. 

The appearance of this disease may be known from the cold- 
ness of the horse's ears and legs, and by his general uneasiness, 
getting up and laying down often, looking around at his flanks, etc. 

Take the proportions of 1 oz. black pepper to half pint of 
whiskey, mix, shake and rub on the belly of the horse. 



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